Davao rice not fake but ‘contaminated, mishandled’

There is no fake rice in the Philippines—only contaminated ones.

This was the conclusion of a multi-agency test headed by the National Food Authority, which studied the allegedly fake rice reported in Davao City in June and more than 50 reports of questionable rice samples across the country.

Secretary Francis Pangilinan, presidential assistant on food security and agricultural modernization, said the Davao rice sample tested positive for rice DNA, but added that it was “mishandled.”

“Tumu-tugma ang mga findings at lumalabas na hindi ito fake rice. Ito ay contaminated rice. Totoong bigas, hindi siya fake, ngunit ito ay na-mishandle. Ibig sabihin, na-contaminate po siya possible ng plastic,” Pangilinan said in a televised briefing on Wednesday.

“This is not fake rice, rice-quality ‘yung starch noong ito’y tinest at nakita po na although contaminated siya, hindi siya starch na galing sa mais, hindi po siya starch na galing sa sweet potato o kaya patatas, kung hindi starch na kahawig na kahawig ang bigas o kanin,” he added.

Among reports of possible existence of questionable foodstuff, Joyce Sales of NFA’s Food Development Center said only the rice sample from Davao tested positive for dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a chemical compound used in making flexible plastics.

“Lahat po ng allegedly fake rice na aming inanalyze ay typical cooked or raw rice, nag-positive sa starch analysis na qualitative. Tanging ‘yung sample ng rice sa Davao ang nag-positive for DBP. And we found out that DBP is not a component of cooked rice but an external contaminant,” she said.

To prevent rice contamination, Sales advised the public to use only microwave-safe containers in re-heating cooked rice, store raw and cooked rice properly, and avoid putting newly cooked rice in compact plastic containers.

Aside from NFA, the multi-agency test was conducted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute, International Rice Research Institute, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Food and Drugs Administration, and Department of Health.

RELATED STORY

‘Fake rice’ isolated in Davao City–Francis Pangilinan